{"id":672142,"date":"2026-01-03T23:31:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T23:31:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/672142\/"},"modified":"2026-01-03T23:31:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T23:31:17","slug":"liverpool-one-signature-away-from-big-january-transfer-with-lucrative-contract","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/672142\/","title":{"rendered":"Liverpool &#8216;one signature away&#8217; from big January transfer with &#8216;lucrative contract&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Club Brugge center-back Joel Ordonez has emerged as a defensive target for Liverpool, with the main terms of the deal said to have been agreed<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0_GettyImages-2250895559.jpg\" alt=\"Joel Ordonez of Club Brugge\" loading=\"eager\"  \/>Joel Ordonez of Club Brugge(Image: 2024 Soccrates Images B.V.)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Liverpool is reportedly closing in on a deal to sign Club Brugge defender Joel Ordonez, with a report in the player&#8217;s native Ecuador saying that he is just &#8220;one signature away&#8221; from securing the move.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">It is claimed that the Reds have beaten off competition from Inter Milan and Chelsea for the young center-back, who was won over by the sporting project at Anfield.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Michael Edwards, <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpool.com\/\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" rel=\"follow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\">Liverpool<\/a>&#8216;s chief executive of soccer, is said to be leading negotiations with <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpool.com\/liverpool-fc-news\/features\/joel-ordonez-transfer-update-club-33161383\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" rel=\"follow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\">Brugge and Ordonez<\/a>, with the main terms of the deal said to have been agreed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">According to <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.expreso.ec\/deportes\/joel-ordonez-llegaal-liverpool-y-tendra-un-contrato-millonario-en-inglaterra-269660.html\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\">Diario Expreso<\/a>, it is now a case of finalizing the small details before Ordonez signs on the dotted line on Merseyside.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Ordonez will reportedly earn $7 million (\u00a35.2 million) a year if the deal for him to join Liverpool gets over the line.<\/p>\n<p>READ MORE: <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpool.com\/liverpool-fc-news\/features\/who-othmane-maamma-championship-talent-33161838\" data-tmdatatrack=\"read-more\" data-tmdatatrack-articleid=\"33161838\" data-tmdatatrack-source=\"editorial\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Who is Othmane Maamma? Championship talent, 20, linked with Liverpool transfer<\/a>READ MORE: <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpool.com\/liverpool-fc-news\/features\/luis-diaz-includes-subtle-man-33161761\" data-tmdatatrack=\"read-more\" data-tmdatatrack-articleid=\"33161761\" data-tmdatatrack-source=\"editorial\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Luis Diaz includes subtle Man Utd hint in new music video after career change<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">It is not clear exactly when the plan is for Ordonez to move to Liverpool, but it is suggested that it will take a bid in excess of $47 million to prise him away from the Belgian club in January.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Brugge confirmed on Tuesday that Ordonez was among the 30 players who departed for a warm-weather training camp in Marbella this weekend, ahead of the resumption of the Belgian league season later this month.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Liverpool&#8217;s defensive issues started all the way back on September 1, when Crystal Palace U-turned on an agreement to sell Marc Guehi to the Reds.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">The addition of Guehi would&#8217;ve bumped the number of center-backs in Arne Slot&#8217;s squad up to five, but Palace pulled out of the deal over concerns about the impact that its captain&#8217;s exit would have had on Oliver Glasner&#8217;s squad.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0_Marc-Guehi.jpg\" alt=\"Marc Guehi of Crystal Palace \" loading=\"lazy\"  \/>Liverpool missed out on Marc Guehi last year(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Weeks later, Liverpool was down to three center-backs as teenage defender Giovanni Leoni, a summer signing from Parma, suffered a serious knee injury in a League Cup game that is expected to keep him out for the remainder of the season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Joe Gomez&#8217;s fitness problems have been an issue for Liverpool for some time now, and he is also currently sidelined, leaving Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate as Liverpool&#8217;s only senior available center-backs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Liverpool remains interested in Palace&#8217;s Guehi, but a deal during the winter window is unlikely, and the Reds are likely to face competition for Guehi next summer, when he will be available as a free agent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Club Brugge center-back Joel Ordonez has emerged as a defensive target for Liverpool, with the main terms of&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":672143,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8815],"tags":[748,393,4884,179,763,2357,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-672142","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-liverpool","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-liverpool","12":"tag-liverpool-fc","13":"tag-transfers","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115833777931242931","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=672142"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672142\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/672143"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=672142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=672142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=672142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}